The present invention relates to a distribution and tracking system that utilizes a set of bits on an electronic medium to track and control use of content electronically.
The now familiar compact disk preserves information as a series of microscopic pits and smooth areas, oriented in concentric circular or helical tracks, on the otherwise smooth, planar surface of an annular disk. Recorded information is read from a compact disk by directing a focused laser beam along the recorded tracks, and detecting variations in the intensity of the laser beam as it encounters the microscopic pits and smooth areas on the disk. The coherence and relatively short wavelength of laser radiation enables large volumes of information to be written onto very small spaces of a recording medium.
Compact disks were first introduced in the music recording industry in 1982, and now account for 43% of all recorded music sales. In the United States alone, over three hundred million compact disks are sold annually, with a retail value of over three billion dollars, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The recording industry has for the last ten years packaged the five inch in diameter prerecorded compact disks in six inch by twelve inch cardboard boxes known in the industry as xe2x80x9clong boxes.xe2x80x9d The long box is easily propped up in display bins alongside traditional vinyl LPs in music store display bins. More importantly, however, the bulk of the long box makes it difficult for a shoplifter to hide a prerecorded compact disk under a coat or in a purse and walk out of a music store without paying. While the long box packaging technique for prerecorded compact disks has been somewhat effective as an anti-theft device, the excess packaging it creates accounts for as much as twenty five million pounds of packaging waste annually.
The Recording Industry Association of America accordingly announced in 1991 its intention to abandon the long box. In February of 1992, the Association announced that, beginning in April 1993, all prerecorded compact disks would be marketed in five inch by five and one half inch packages.
When Compact Discs (CD)s or Digital Video or Versatile Disks (DVD)s are manufactured, they are frequently transported and stored on spindles. This is at least in part due to the fragile nature of the storage medium. Since each disk has a center hole, is relatively thin and is relatively light, storage of multiple discs on a spindle is convenient. Spindles, as used in the manufacture of disks, typically have a central post about two feet long and weighted base about two inches thick. Depending upon the level of automation of the disk manufacturing process, disks may be stored or carried on spindles several times before printing or packaging. In the most fully automated processes, disks are only kept on spindles between the inspection and printing steps and just prior to final packaging. In more manual systems, disks may be placed on spindles between every manufacturing step including between molding and metalizing, between metalizing and spin coating, between spin coating and inspection, between inspection and printing, and between printing and final packaging. However, regardless of the number of times the disks are maintained on spindles, each such time the disk is removed for processing, a possibility of theft and confusion as to title exists. In other words, whenever a disk is on a spindle, particularly without any identifying printing, the identification of the title on that spindle may easily be called into question or be confused. It is essential that a capability be built into a disk to track the disk and provide distribution management, quality control and customer access information.
Similarly, whenever disks are maintained on a spindle for any length of time, theft can occur. Without any means of preventing unauthorized removal of disks from the spindle or tracking exactly how many disks were on the spindle, thefts regularly happen.
The merchandising of compact disc (hereinafter xe2x80x9cCDxe2x80x9d) multimedia is a growing industry. CD multimedia are used in audio, video, audio-video, and computer based applications. Since many similar looking duplicate recordings for a particular CD program are often available from many different sources, it is difficult for merchants to track, identify, and distinguish their inventory from the inventory of others.
Security is an important concern associated with the rental, loan, or sale of such merchandise. Items such as commercially prerecorded compact disc programs are available from rental shops, stores, and libraries. It is important for a merchant to have a simple means to secure and identify its merchandise. For example, a merchant needs to determine whether merchandise which was rented from it is the same merchandise that is being returned to it to deter customers from attempting to switch good rented merchandise with bad return merchandise (such as a customer""s scratched disc).
The switching of CDs in good condition with defective CDs obtained from other sources is a difficult problem that merchants face. Merchandise switching is a significant problem given the high volume of business involved in the compact disc industry and the difficulty of detecting such illegal switching. An easy and reliable way for a merchant to determine whether the digital data contained on a CD is damaged or defective is required. Although obvious imperfections such as scratches or cracks may be detected by a simple visual inspection, such inspection cannot detect defects in the digital data. Even though defects may be discovered during regular speed playback of an entire CD, such means is commercially impractical since it requires too much time for merchants dealing in high volume to check every CD returned to them. Although high-speed electronic scanning devices for checking digital recordings currently exist, such devices are effectively unavailable to the individual merchant due to cost prohibitions and the limited availability of such technology.
Electronic article surveillance systems for monitoring the egress of sensitive objects from controlled spaces are well known, and have been used alone and along with the long box packaging technique for controlling the unauthorized taking of compact disks. Markers formed from a piece of high permeability magnetic material can be placed on the packaging for the disk. Spaced apart detection panels are then placed across the access points to the store, library or other repository for the monitored compact disks. The panels include field coils and detector coils for producing a magnetic field across the access point that can detect the passage of a marker between the panels. If a person attempts to carry a compact disk through the magnetic field presented by the panels without first deactivating the marker on the disk packaging, the presence of the marker will be detected and an alarm initiated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,754 discloses a multi-directional EAS marker especially designed for its compact dimensions. The marker disclosed in the ""754 patent is comprised of a high permeability, low coercive force, generally planar magnetic responder material that includes at least two narrow regions defining switching sections, and adjacent, wider, flux collector sections. The juxtaposition of the narrow switching sections with the flux collector sections causes the flux to be highly concentrated in the switching sections. The high concentration of flux lines in the switching sections produces high frequency harmonics when passed through an alternating magnetic field, allowing the presence of the marker in the field to be detected. The marker is conveniently made dual status, i.e., reversibly deactivatable and reactivatable, by including a piece of magnetizable material adjacent each of the switching sections. The magnetizable material, when magnetized, biases the adjacent switching section to either keep the magnetization therein from reversing when in an alternating interrogation field, or at least altering the response of the marker in the field. In either case, readily distinguishably different signals are produced by the marker in an interrogation field depending on whether the magnetizable material is magnetized or demagnetized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,185 discloses a multi-directional, dual-status EAS marker also designed for its compact dimensions. The marker disclosed in the ""185 patent discloses a marker that includes a continuous uninterrupted sheet of remanently magnetizable material overlying a sheet of responder material similar to that disclosed in the ""754 patent. The response of the marker within an alternating magnetic field can be discernably altered by selectively magnetizing and demagnetizing the continuous sheet of remanently magnetizable material prior to introducing the marker into the field. The markers disclosed in the above noted prior art can be attached to the packaging for a compact disk. Problems arise, however, when attempting to attach prior art markers directly to the surface of a compact disk. Rotation of the compact disk is required to read information from the disk, and the disk must accordingly be inherently balanced. An EAS marker, applied directly to a compact disk, therefor, would preferably be somehow concentrically mounted on the disk without imbalancing the disk. Prior art EAS markers, however, are not inherently balanced. Moreover, conventional compact disks include a centered aperture that must be maintained clear of obstructions, and the preferred prior art dual status EAS markers include a continuous sheet of magnetic material, such that the marker cannot be concentrically mounted to the surface of a compact disk without obstructing the disk aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,813 proposed an anti-theft device for compact disks that overcame the inability to directly apply an EAS marker to the surface of a compact disk. The ""813 patent discloses a detachable locking plate with an EAS marker carried on the internal face of the plate that can be selectively locked to the xe2x80x9cjewelry boxxe2x80x9d for a compact disk. The compact disk is physically locked in the box leg by the plate. A clerk or other authorized person can remove the plate with the use of a keyed release tool at the time of payment. It will be appreciated that the use of a locking plate requires preparation time to attach a plate to each compact disk cartridge, adds an additional step in the check-out process, and leaves the compact disk without EAS protection once the EAS marker carrying plate is removed from the compact disk. The lack of EAS protection once the plate is removed makes it especially risky for a retailer to permit the trial playing of a compact disk by a customer in the store before the compact disk is purchased. The new packaging standard for prerecorded compact disks, while environmentally sound, will exacerbate the problem of compact disk shop lifting, since the smaller packages will be easier to hide and transport out of a store.
While the use of electronic article surveillance systems could partially compensate for the increased shoplifting threat, it will be appreciated that the unauthorized removal of the magnetic markers from a package will defeat the detection capability of the surveillance system, and known EAS markers cannot be directly mounted on a compact disk without affecting the operability of the disk. The use of an EAS marker in conjunction with a locking plate presents handling problems and does not solve the problem of physical security of compact disks at stores where the customer is allowed to listen to the compact disk prior to purchase. A new, compact optical information disk especially designed for tamper-proof use with an electronic article surveillance system through the use of an EAS marker that could be applied directly to the surface of the compact disk would accordingly provide decided advantages. Thus, there is a need for merchants to conveniently and inexpensively maintain the security of their electronic content medium.
A system, method, and article of manufacture is provided for tracking the distribution of content electronically. First, an electronic storage medium tracking identifier is incorporated onto an electronic storage medium and stored on a database. Next, a package tracking identifier is situated onto a package in which the electronic storage medium is stored. The electronic storage medium is then tracked while being shipped between various entities using the tracking identifier on the package. Further, the electronic storage medium may be identified using the tracking identifier on the electronic storage medium in order to afford various advertising, security, support, or retail-related features.